Incandescent-electric-lamp socket



N. W. NUTT.

.'NCANDESCENT ELECTRIC LAMP SOCKET. APPLICATKON men MAY a. 1919.

1,366,699. Patented Jan. 25,1921.

IIWE/VTOR UNITED STATES PATENT ()FlCE.

NORMAN W. N'UIT, OF TRENTON, JERSEY.

INGANDESCENT-ELECTRIC-LAMP SOCKET.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, NORMAN lV. Nur'r, a citizen of the United States, residing in Trenton, in the county of Mercer and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Incandescent-Electrio-Lamp Sockets, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to incandescent electric lamp sockets and has for its object the provision of convenient and efl'ective means for detachably connecting the shells of the metal casings of such sockets with their caps.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a vertical mid-sectional view of a lamp socket casing embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the shell of such casing showing one of the tongues bearing locking projections; Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the cap of the casing showing the openings in the wall of the flange of the cap formed to receive the projections carried by one of the tongues of the shell; and Fig. 4 is a detail view, on an enlarged scale, disclosing in section the projections of a tongue interlocked with the openings in the cap flange.

The shell, 1, of the casing is of the form commonly adopted for incandescent electric lamp sockets, as is the cap, 2.

At parts of the shell, 1, preferably diametrically opposite each other, the shell wall is slotted at 8, 3 to form the resilient tongues 4, one of which is shown in Fig. 2. The free end of each tongue is rounded as shown in Fig. 2, and has formed upon its rounded portion, by cutting the metal of the tongue, three projections, 5, which are bent outwardly from the axis of the shell into substantial perpendicularity to the plane of the tongue, but with their free edges flared slightly outward from the center of the circle of which said projections form segments. See Figs. 2 and 4. In the flange of the cap, 2, are formed three apertures, 7, located substantially as segmentsof a circle, to receive the projections 5.

To assemble the shell, 1, and its cap, 2, the

resilient tongues, 1, are depressed or pushed inwardly, digitally or otherwise, to enable the projections 5 to clear the inner side of the wall of the cap flange, 6, and the end of the shell is projected into the cap flange until it abuts against the slight offset in the. wall of the cap where the flange 6 joins the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 25, 1921.

Application filed May 3, 1919. Serial No. 294,569.

dome, 8, when, if the projections 5 are alinedwith the openings 7 before the shell is pro ected into the cap, the said projections will register with the openings. 7 ad the resiliency. of the-tongues, 4:, will cause,

the projections to spring into the openings and become locked therein. If, howev, such alinement of the interlocking elements have not been initially effected, the shell isshghtly rotated within the cap flange until sucl i'registration is attained, when the engaging elements will at once become automatically interlocked. To disengage the shell from its cap, the tongues are digitally or otherwise depressed to withdraw the projections from the openings in the cap flange, and the shell may be readily separated from the cap.

By curving the projections 5 as described and positioning them relatively to each other like segments of the same circle great strength is given them wherewith to resist all stresses. exerted upon them by heavy shades carried by the sockets, or otherwise; and the form of the openings in the cap flange is such as to obviate objectionable weakening of the wall of the flange. The outward flaring of the edges of the projections 5 also prevents any possible unintentional recession of the tongues 4 from the flange of the cap whereby the projections might be withdrawn from their complementary openings in the cap flange and the shell released from the cap, as the projections are, practically, hooked into their complementary openings, and the greater the stress exerted upon the shell to withdraw it from its cap, the more firmly the projections are wedged upon and held to the wall of the cap flange bounding the openings provided for the projections, the contacting lip of each opening being thus gripped and held as in a tapered lock. All excessive rocking of the shell in the cap is also prevented by such construction.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. In a casing for an'incandescent electric lamp socket, the combination of a shell and a cap, one of said elements having a tongue carrying a plurality of. projections arranged in substantially triangular relation having their planes angularly disposed to the plane of said tongue and having their free edges flared outwardly, and the other of said elements having openings in its wall the said projections on said tongue;

formed and positionedto receive and hold the said projections on said tongue.

2. In a casing for an incandescent electric lamp socket, the combination of a shell and a capfsaid shell having formed therein a tongue carrying a plurality of projections arranged in substantially triangular relation having their planes angularly disposed to the plane oi said'tongue and with their free edges flared outwardly, and said cap having openings in the Wall oi its flange formed and positioned to receive and hold 3}. In a casing for an incandescent electric lamp socket, the combination of a shell and a cap, said shell having formed thereln a plurality of tongues, each of said tongues carrying a plurality of projections arranged in substantially triangular relation having their planes angularly disposed to the plane of the tongue carrying them and having their free ends flared outwardly, and said cap having openings in the Wall of its flange formed and positioned to receive and hold the projections on saidtongues,

' NORMAN \V. NUTT. Witness:

JOHN R. D. Bowen. 

